All Photos in this article by Vanessa Sun
The banners celebrating the 15 years of the Kasparov Chess Foundation and welcoming players, parents, and coaches, which numbered well over 2000, to the playing hall
The 2017 Greater New York Championship had a record-shattering attendance, just in time for the Kasparov Chess Foundation’s 15th year anniversary! Players from all over the Tri-state area came to the Marriot at Brooklyn Bridge to enjoy a weekend of chess and fun. Even with the Super Bowl happening the same weekend, the tournament was able to attract more than 1500 K-12 players!
Garry Kasparov made an appearance, even making the first move in some of the top boards!
There were a variety of tournament sections, based on age and rating band. These were the final winners from the Championship (open) section in High School, Junior High, Elementary, Primary and K-1:
The High School Championship was taken by the highest rated player, FM Ethan Li, who swept the field with a convincing 5.5/6. He was followed closely by Max Li and Dennis Li.
| Place | Name | Rtng | Team | Grd | St | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FM Ethan Li | 2390 | LIPAT | 11 | NY | 5.5 |
| 2-3 | Max Li | 2083 | EMONJS | 09 | NY | 5 |
| Dennis Li | 2158 | 09 | CT | 5 | ||
| 4-5 | Henry Qi | 2210 | WTCLARK | 10 | NY | 4.5 |
| Brian Arthur | 2058 | EMURR | 12 | NY | 4.5 | |
| 6-9 | Daniel Regassa | 1936 | STUY | 11 | NY | 4 |
| Nicholas Cardenas | 2001 | TRENHS | 11 | NJ | 4 | |
| Tristan Dalhouse | 1836 | EMURR | 11 | NY | 4 | |
| Diante Davis | 2016 | BCSM | 11 | NY | 4 | |
| 10-19 | Mubassar Uddin | 2013 | NEST | 12 | NY | 3.5 |
Meanwhile in the Junior High Championship there was again a clear rating favorite: FM Hans Niemann who took the event with another 5.5/6. He was followed very closely by three players!
FM Hans Niemann got the job done, but it was not easy
| Place | Name | Rtng | Team | Grd | St | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FM Hans Niemann | 2402 | 08 | CT | 5.5 | |
| 2-4 | Alan Zhang | 2120 | 07 | NJ | 5 | |
| Brandon Wang | 2108 | 07 | NY | 5 | ||
| Theo Kogan | 1668 | CGPS | 07 | NY | 5 | |
| 5-10 | Wesley Wang | 2257 | JERIMS | 07 | NEW | 4.5 |
| Justin Chen | 2264 | LAB-M | 08 | NY | 4.5 | |
| Ankit Raparthi | 1900 | COLLG | 07 | NY | 4.5 | |
| Marcus Sutton | 1952 | I318K | 08 | NY | 4.5 | |
| Katrina Wong | 1868 | I318K | 08 | NY | 4.5 | |
| James Lee | 1922 | SPEYR | 07 | NY | 4.5 |
The Elementary Championship section was a hard fought battle, and it all came down to the duel between Nico Chasin against Vincent Tsay in the last round to determine the winner. It was Nico that emerged on top and won the event!
| # | Place | Name | Rtng | Team | Grd | St | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Nico Chasin | 2107 | P41M | 04 | NY | 6 |
| 2 | 2-8 | Jason Lu | 1905 | 05 | NJ | 5 | |
| 3 | Charles Hua | 1869 | NEST | 05 | NY | 5 | |
| 4 | Vincent Tsay | 2127 | BUCDAY | 06 | NY | 5 | |
| 5 | Davis Zong | 2078 | NEST | 05 | NY | 5 | |
| 6 | Leonardo Liu | 1753 | 06 | NEW | 5 | ||
| 7 | William Tse | 1641 | P33M | 04 | NY | 5 | |
| 8 | Eric Sheng Wu | 1782 | PRDAY | 05 | NJ | 5 | |
| 9 | 9-14 | Eddy Tian | 2111 | 04 | NJ | 4.5 | |
| 10 | Paris Prestia | 1860 | LLOYDE | 05 | NY | 4.5 |
The only section that did not have a clear winner was, interestingly, the youngest section! In the K-1 we saw a big five-way tie for first place! Due to the tiebreak system, it was Oliver Boydell that got first:
| Place | Name | Rtng | Team | Grd | St | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Oliver Boydell | 1427 | UNIS | 01 | NY | 5 |
| Will Luo | 888 | 01 | NJ | 5 | ||
| Xan Meister | 1420 | COLLG | 01 | NY | 5 | |
| Ranbeer Arora | 1017 | COLLG | 01 | NY | 5 | |
| Avaan Chamadia | 949 | P11M | 01 | NY | 5 | |
| 6-9 | Christoffer Lamtan | 873 | P11M | 01 | NY | 4.5 |
| Jasper Ho | 990 | SPEYR | 01 | NY | 4.5 | |
| Kai Gabriel Tsuboyama | 824 | NEST | 01 | NY | 4.5 | |
| Stephanie Weinberg | 760 | DALTN | 01 | NY | 4.5 | |
| 10-18 | Kabeer Arora | 835 | COLLG | 01 | NY | 4 |
Vanessa Sun, chess player, journalist and enthusiast from New York brings us these beautiful impressions from the Greater New York tournament:
The players got to tell what they wanted to open with…
Some requested the normal 1.e4 or 1.d4…
But this girl made Garry Kasparov open with 1.f4!
Coaches hard at work: grandmasters Irina Krush and Alex Lenderman
Tough battles in the Elementary section
Dressed for the occasion, no doubt
The sweet feeling of victory
Many of the most promising players in the country participated in the event
The structure might resemble a top level game!
A proud winner
Sophie Morris-Suzuki is one of the most promising female players in the country
Big pride!
Murrow Chess
More winners from the High School section
U.S. Chess Federation had a strong female presence
Can’t beat that smile
More information about the tournament and full standings can be found at the Greater New York website.